Ramblings From a Crazy Mind
by Cuius of Caelum
Summary: A collection of story ideas in the form of one shots. Each chapter is a different story idea. Will have Naruto stories, and Naruto crossovers. Feel free to use the ideas and write your own story, just be sure to show it to me so I can read it.
1. Indestructible

**Title:** Indestructible

**Category: **Naruto

**Genres: **Adventure, Romance

**Rating:** M

**Characters: **Naruto U. Hinata H.

**Summary: **Because of a painful past, Naruto will do anything to protect those precious to him. With a will of iron and body of steel he'll fight for his friends.

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto. Masashi Kishimoto owns Naruto and all things related to it. This story is simply a product of envy and admiration towards those with the proper ownership to the series.**

* * *

Chapter 1: The Iron Beast

"Cut it out." A voice called out to a group of three young boys bullying a girl. The owner of the voice was an eight year old boy. He had blue eyes and blond, spiky hair, and more notably he had marks on his cheeks that looked like whiskers. He was wearing a black t-shirt with a red spiral on the front, as well as a pair of dark green shorts. Lastly he had a pair of green goggles on his forehead.

"Huh? What do you want?" The apparent leader of the small group asked before one of the others spoke up.  
"Hey, he's that kid! The one who's always getting into trouble and fighting. The one everyone hates!"

"Oh yeah…that guy." The third kid said. "That guy, huh?" The leader said mockingly and the group laughed.

"I'm not "that guy"! My name is Uzumaki Naruto! I'm gonna be the Hokage one day. Remember that!" The blond boy yelled at them.

"Hokage?!" The three bullies said before bursting out laughing and started mocking him. Meanwhile the girl who had been the center of attraction earlier, and was still on her hands and knees on the ground, had a flashback to a few days earlier.

She had been walking with her caretaker when she had noticed the same boy causing a commotion before running past her yelling he would become Hokage and show everyone. She had also heard the adults talk about him, calling him a demon boy, and once "Kyūbi brat". She had asked her caretaker what the word meant but had been dismissed and simply told to stay away from the boy.

"There's no way an idiot like you can become Hokage!" The leader of the bullies told Naruto and slugged him in the face, causing the girl to gasp. Naruto took a step back from the punch, his head angled to the side with his eyes closed. Then he looked at them and grinned.

"You can mock me as much as you want, I'll still protect you when I'm Hokage. You'll need it with a punch like that." He told them. The lead bully glared at him.

"Wanna fight?" He asked threateningly. Naruto smirked. "Fight you? That'd just be a waste of my time. Besides, I only fight to protect."

"Then protect yourself!" The leader yelled and jumped on him, sending them to the ground and started hammering him with punches as his friends joined in. Still Naruto didn't lose his grin as he was assaulted over and over while the girl watched helplessly in the background.

"Hinata-sama!" A male voice then yelled getting their attention and startling the bullies who scrambled to get away.

"Hinata-sama, are you all right?" The man addressed the girl worriedly. Then he saw Naruto on the ground, seemingly unconscious.  
"This boy is…" He trailed off and grabbed Hinata's arm.

"Come on, Hinata-sama." He said.

"Wait, he helped me…" Hinata told her caretaker, worried for the boy's health. "You must not get involved with him. Let us go." Her caretaker said and started pulling her away.

"B-But…" Hinata tried protesting to no avail. Then she noticed the blond sit up, looking dirty but unharmed, to her immense surprise. Even her caretaker had stopped.  
"Don't worry about me, I'm fine." Naruto told the girl with a grin and rubbed his neck. "Those guys couldn't throw a punch if their life depended on it."

"Jā nē…" He waved over his shoulder as he stood and walked away as if he hadn't just been pummeled into the ground. As she was led away Hinata couldn't help but to keep looking in the direction the strange boy had gone.

* * *

"Just look at it. It's so pathetic!" A boy named Hibachi laughed to his friends as he held a small puppy up by its neck.

"C'mon just throw it away already." Another kid told him.

"No way I'm gonna have some fun first!" Hibachi said with a grin and threw the small dog into the air, causing it to yip in fright. But then someone leaped over the group, catching the dog. "Oi what the hell are you doing? Give me back my dog!" Hibachi yelled to the person.

In return he received a vicious glare from Naruto. "This isn't your dog; you just found it alone and wanted to have some fun, right?" He said angrily.

Hibachi sneered at him. "Maybe, so what? Give it back to me."

"I don't think so. Now leave."

Hibachi growled at Naruto. "Or what? You gonna beat us up? He mocked him with a laugh. Naruto just shrugged.  
"If I have to I will."

"Yeah right, you're outnumbered five to one." Hibachi told him as his group surrounded Naruto. He just grinned.  
"I've been outnumbered my whole life." He told them before feeling a punch land on the back of his head. He looked over his shoulder at the boy who had punched him, and smirked when he saw him stumbling back holding his hand.

"Gah, what the hell?! It felt like I hit a brick wall!" The kid exclaimed. Hibachi just scoffed.  
"Oh stop crying you wimp." He told his friend and attacked Naruto with a straight punch, only for Naruto to catch it with his right hand, his other holding the puppy protectively to his chest. "Normally I'd just let you wail on me until you got tired and left, but unfortunately for you I'm protecting someone this time." Naruto said before pulling Hibachi towards him and landing a knee in his stomach.

Then he spun, landing a kick on the cheek of a charging boy. Continuing the spin he crouched and swept the legs from under another kid before leaping backwards to avoid a lunge. "Oh look, already one down. Just four more to go." He smirked, seeing the boy he had kicked wasn't getting up.

The group glared at him and charged at him all at once this time, trying to overwhelm him. Naruto ducked under the punch from the first boy while sweeping one of his legs, sending him flying to the ground where he hit his head and passed out. As he stopped his spin he was hit by a kick to the jaw from the boy who had kicked him earlier. Rolling with it he retaliated with his own kick that sent the boy flying into a fence. As the third boy attacked him Naruto traded a punch to the stomach with him, which he barely felt but left the boy on the ground gasping for breath.

Then Hibachi came with a wild swing, hitting him right in the cheek. Naruto was unfazed, barely budging an inch as Hibachi gasped as pain rocketed through his arm. Naruto then grabbed his arm and swung him over his shoulder as he spun.

Hibachi slammed into the ground hard, and he gasped for breath as his whole body trembled in pain. "That last hit actually stung, not bad." Naruto told the wheezing boy.

Walking away Naruto paid no attention to the fact that a small crowd had gathered from the main street and seen the whole fight. As he walked past them he could hear their low voices, condemning him for beating up innocent boys as some of the adults went to check on the beaten group. He just ignored them and petted the small dog, heading towards the Inuzuka compound.

* * *

'My first day at the Academy…' Naruto thought to himself while walking through a building. Stopping outside of a door and looking at the number he then looked at the piece of paper in his hand. "Guess this is where I go." He muttered to himself and slid the door open. Inside was a large group of children his age sitting and talking to each other. A few looked over at him before going back to their conversations. While looking around the room for a place to sit he spotted someone he recognized.

Since there was a seat next to her open he shrugged and walked up the stairs between the seats. As he did it seemed the girl noticed him as well. "Yo. Mind if I sit here?" Naruto asked. The girl timidly shook her head, so he sat down.

"You're Hinata right? I'm Naruto." He said as he sat down. "H-Hello. T-Thank you f-for helping me." Hinata thanked him.

Naruto tilted his head in confusion to her stuttering, getting a blush from her. 'He looks so cute.' She thought to herself. Naruto shrugged. "I told you, didn't I? It wasn't a problem; I hate people who hurt others, no matter what way. Besides they were really weak, their punches didn't even hurt."

"S-Still, it was v-very nice of you." Hinata told him. Naruto looked at her surprised. "Really? It shouldn't be, I just did what I thought was right."

They were stopped from continuing by their teacher entering the room. "Good morning! First I'll introduce myself. I'm Umino Iruka, and from today, I'll be your homeroom teacher." He introduced himself. After that Iruka called out everyone's name on a list and had them introduce themselves.

* * *

About an hour later they had moved outside. "Now then, for the next lesson. Instead of just introducing yourselves, I want you to demonstrate your ninjutsu skills." Iruka told them. "So, we'll try a basic jutsu, the Bunshin. First up is Uchiha Sasuke. Try it on."

"Uchiha? As in the Uchiha Clan?" A blond haired girl, Yamanaka Ino, exclaimed with a blush.

"Yes, he's an elite among the elites!" Her friend, Haruno Sakura, responded dreamily as Sasuke stepped forward. Naruto just looked at the boy inquisitively as he performed the Bunshin flawlessly. "He's pretty good." He commented quietly. Hinata who stood next to him nodded in agreement.

Iruka nodded. "Well done." He said as the majority of the girls in the class swooned over Sasuke. "Next, Uzumaki Naruto."

Naruto took a step forward, ignoring the not so silent whispers from some of his classmates. "Sorry sensei, but I can't perform that jutsu." He told Iruka, who looked at him questioningly.  
"Why not? And you don't have to succeed; I just want to see what everyone already knows." He said.

Naruto shrugged. "I can do it, but I don't think you'd want to deal with the commotion that comes after."

"Commotion?" Iruka questioned, getting a nod. "Yeah, I can do the jutsu, but you'd end up with the whole district full of clones. I have too much chakra, so if I try to do any less they just get overloaded." Naruto explained.

"Nonsense, just do the technique." Iruka ordered him, not believing Naruto had that much chakra. Naruto sighed. "Okay but don't say I didn't warn you…"

With that said he flipped through the hand seals and started building the chakra needed. When a blue flame-like aura of chakra enveloped him and the wind kicked up in the area Iruka was starting to regret his decision. The pure amount of chakra was starting to attract nearby ninja and forcing the students and their teacher to back away from Naruto. "Bunshin no Jutsu!"

The next thing anyone knew a massive cloud of smoke had covered the majority of the district, causing mass confusion until the smoke cleared to show hundreds of Naruto everywhere, on the ground, in the trees, on the rooftops and even sitting on the fences. "Naruto dispel them!" Iruka yelled frantically. A few seconds later only the original Naruto was standing where he originally stood. "Told you…" Was all he said as the Hokage arrived with several ANBU.

* * *

Later after everything had calmed down the class had moved to a sparring ring to test their taijutsu abilities. Currently Nara Shikamaru and Akimichi Chōji stood in the ring facing each other. Meanwhile the rest of the class stood behind Iruka. Naruto stood by himself, having frightened the rest of the class with his show earlier, only Hinata was standing somewhat close. He didn't mind though, he had figured he was going to freak them out when he used that much chakra. In fact he could admit he had gone a little overboard. 'Maybe I should've kept it to a hundred?' He asked himself, one hundred being the lowest amount of clones he could make if he didn't want them to be overloaded.

Shaking his head he thought about who he'd fight, though he figured most would be hesitant to do so after his little show. He really wanted to test Sasuke however. Realizing Shikamaru and Chōji had done something so they wouldn't have to spar he decided that maybe he should be paying attention. Just in time too as Iruka called out his name.

"Next, Uzumaki Naruto!"

Naruto could hear murmurs going through the crowd, saying things like "My parents said not to speak to him and after that thing he did I don't mind." and "He's the one guy I don't want to be paired with." One conversation caught his attention the most however.  
"I've heard about him, he's the one who keeps getting into fights. He even beat up a group of Genin once." A girl said.

"I've heard about him too. They call him the Iron Beast, because punching him feels like your hitting iron."

'Iron Beast, huh? I'd prefer Iron Knight, but I guess it can't be helped.' Naruto thought with a small smirk as he stepped into the ring. Of course the rumors didn't mention that he never started a fight. They always happened because he was protecting someone or something. There were also the times when someone attacked him just to get the credit of beating him.

"And Uchiha Sasuke, step forward." Iruka then called out, getting cheers from the girls.

Naruto grinned as they faced off. "Damn you got a mean face. I hope your punch matches it." He said. Sasuke just stared at him.  
"Hn."

"G-Good luck, Naru…" Hinata tried calling out to Naruto but her timid voice was drowned out by some other girl yelling Sasuke's name at the top of her lungs. But Naruto had still heard Hinata, and was thankful for her support. It felt nice he had to admit.

"It'll be Uzumaki Naruto versus Uchiha Sasuke. Make the Seal of Confrontation." Iruka told them and demonstrated it by making a half tiger seal. Once they did so Iruka called for them to start.

Sasuke immediately rushed Naruto, who waited for him. A right hook connected with Naruto's cheek, sending him to the ground. Before Sasuke could ended it Naruto flipped back onto his feet, landing at the edge of the ring. "Heh, the punch does match the face." He commented with a grin. Sasuke glared at him and attacked again, this time with a low kick aiming for his ribs. Naruto blocked the kick with his arm, so Sasuke jumped, kicking at his head. Naruto rolled under it, and as he came up he was met by a barrage of punches from Sasuke. He blocked some but a majority of them hit him hard, and yet throughout it all he was grinning.

At the sidelines the class watched the fight going on in amazement. Even Iruka was impressed, he hadn't been expecting a fight of this skill on the first day, but he was confused by Naruto. While Sasuke was constantly attacking he noticed Naruto didn't once attack in anyway, all he was doing was defending and taking the hits Sasuke was giving out. And while he was impressed by Naruto's durability if this continued he'd have to call it and give the win to Sasuke.

He wasn't the only one to notice this oddity, Hinata had noticed it and felt worried for Naruto taking so many hits, while Shikamaru had spotted it and was paying close attention as he wondered why Naruto wasn't attacking.

The answer came soon as Sasuke finally backed off, holding his hand as if it was injured. Sasuke was panting hard from keeping up the assault for several minutes, and as he looked at Naruto he was shocked to notice that he didn't have a single bruise, and his breathing was still as steady as when they started. And he still had that grin. Meanwhile he was exhausted and his limbs hurt from hitting Naruto, like he had spent hours hitting a training post.

Naruto whistled appreciatively. "Man, you really got some attack power there. Let me guess, you're wondering why the hell I don't even have a single bruise right?" He asked Sasuke. When he didn't receive an answer he took it as a yes.  
"Here's the thing. Normal attacks don't work on me. I'm too resilient. No matter how skilled you are you can't do enough damage to hurt me with simple punches and kicks. Simply put I can't be beaten in a fist fight. I can just do what I just did; weather the attacks until you run out of steam. That's why some call me the Iron Beast." He explained to Sasuke and his classmates, with a glance at the boy who had called him by that name.

Sasuke's, along with several others eyes widened in realization. Infuriated Sasuke charged at Naruto and putting all his remaining strength into it, slugged Naruto as hard as he could in the face. As Sasuke charged him Naruto finally dropped his grin, along with his guard and took the punch without budging. "Game over." He muttered as Sasuke grunted in pain from breaking his fist, before he finally retaliated with a punch of his own. Sasuke couldn't even see it coming and was falling over before he felt it.

Naruto looked at the unconscious boy before directing his gaze at Iruka. "I'm going to assume I don't have to make the Seal of Reconciliation with him…since he's currently indisposed." He said and walked out of the ring to his classmates.

* * *

Four years later, Naruto grinned as he watched Hibachi and his gang run away after another try at defeating him. The now twelve year old blonde's appearance now consisted of an orange and blue tracksuit which he kept unzipped, a black shirt underneath it, orange pants with a shuriken holster attached to his right knee, and blue sandals. He also wore the same green goggles he'd owned for years, but he planned on exchanging those for a hitai-ate soon.

"Too easy." He laughed, but as he stood in triumph he failed to notice Iruka coming up behind him.

"Hey, Naruto!" Iruka yelled in his ear, scaring the wits out of Naruto. "GAAH!" Naruto jumped in surprise and spun around to face his homeroom teacher.  
"What the hell, Iruka-sensei?!"

"What do you think you're doing during class?" Iruka questioned him angrily. Naruto grinned sheepishly. "Um…I was…getting some air!"

"Several blocks from the school? In a secluded area with several other boys?" Iruka asked, clearly not believing him.

"Okay! I ditched class because it's boooring. But the fight wasn't my fault! They keep insisting! And I don't even hit them; I just let them get tired." Naruto admitted. His teacher just sighed.

"Let's just get back to class."

* * *

"Because Naruto decided to skip class, we're going to have a review test for the Henge! Those who already passed will have to line up as well." Iruka told his class a few minutes later, much to the chagrin of his students.

Naruto watched Sasuke flawlessly perform the Henge. "This sucks. Thanks, you troublesome blond. Why couldn't you just stay in class for once?" Shikamaru complained next to him. Naruto just waved him off.

"Oh bite me. It's not my fault the lectures are so utterly mind numbing, what'd you expect me to do?" He asked him. Shikamaru yawned. "Take a nap, that's what I do…" Naruto grinned as Ino reprimanded Shikamaru.  
"Lazy bum." He said, getting a giggle from Hinata, who stood next to him.

"Next, Uzumaki Naruto."

* * *

Later Naruto sat with Hinata at Ichiraku Ramen. During their time in the Academy they had grown to be close friends and Naruto treasured her company more than anyone else's, especially since he wasn't very close to anyone else his age. He always felt calm when he was with her, as if she was a counterbalance to his exuberant craziness.

On Hinata's end, she greatly admired Naruto and his will to protect anyone, even at risk for himself, despite the fact that he was treated as an outcast by almost everyone in the village. His confidence and determination to better himself inspired and pushed her to improve herself, in the process making her more confident.

"Nē, Hinata-chan." Naruto said, getting Hinata's attention as they exited the small restaurant. "I want to show you something." Hinata nodded. "O-Okay, but I have to be home soon." She told him. Naruto nodded.

"It won't take long."

* * *

The sun was just starting to set as Naruto led Hinata to the top of the Hokage Monument. "Okay, you can open your eyes now." He told her. Doing so Hinata gasped as she took in the beautiful view.  
"It's beautiful…" She whispered before Naruto tugged on her sleeve to come sit with him on the head of the Yondaime.

"I like to come here when I want to think…" He told her as they watched the sun go down slowly. They shared a peaceful silence until Hinata broke it. "The final exam is tomorrow…"

"You nervous?" Naruto asked her. Hinata nodded. "A little bit."

"You shouldn't be you'll ace it! You've worked really hard, plus you're really smart." Naruto told her. "If anything I should be worried, I suck at the theoretical stuff, even if I'm good at the physical stuff. But worrying is just a waste of time that could be spent doing something better!" He exclaimed confidently, once again inspiring Hinata, who gave a firm nod determined to beat the exam.

The next day they both walked out of the Academy as Genin.

* * *

**AN: Story idea I had after starting to read the new manga Iron Knight. Not much to say about it, except that Naruto possesses Steel Release.**

**Till next time, Cuius of Caelum.**


	2. Kādo no Aijin

**Title: **Kādo no Aijin

(The Card Mistress)

(カードの愛人)

**Category: **Naruto

**Genre: **Adventure, Romance

**Rating: **M

**Characters: **Naruko U. Anko M.

**Summary:** At a young age Naruko decides that learning the art of Fūinjutsu is a good idea when you're a Jinchūriki. She also gains an interest in card games, mixing them she creates the Card Style.

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto. Masashi Kishimoto owns Naruto and all things related to it. This story is simply a product of envy and admiration towards those with the proper ownership to the series.**

* * *

Chapter 1: The Card Style

A young child stood outside of a bar peering in. She had blond, spiky hair that was dirty from having lived outside for the last month or so. She wore a white t-shirt that was too big for her, and a pair of black cargo shorts, both of which were just as dirty as her hair, if not more.

The bar of her interest was a small establishment, having only four tables and counter with several stools next to it. The bartender behind the counter was a large and bulky dark skinned bald man with a brown goatee.

The building was fairly empty, the sun having just gone down and the regulars still not having arrived. "Well are you going to come in or stand out there all night?" The young child started at the dark voice of the owner and hesitated for a moment before cautiously walking into the bar.

Only one of the tables was occupied by a couple of people playing some card game, the child observed as she reached the counter and climbed up on a stool. The bartender smiled at her and placed a glass of juice in front of her. The child stared at it questioningly before looking up at the large man. "I don't have any money." She told him quietly.

The dark skinned man just smiled as he placed a bowl of ramen in front of her. "Don't worry about it, you look starving. Eat." He said. She hesitated before carefully picking up the chopsticks, grabbing some noodles and started eating. Her eyes lit up and seconds later the bowl was empty and she drained the glass of juice just as fast.

The bartender laughed. "I see I was right. You have quite the appetite there young lady." He commented, getting a blush of embarrassment from the small child. "I'm Agil, what's your name?" He asked her while he took her bowl and filled it up again.

"Naruko." The child said. Agil paused for a moment. "Clapper?" He questioned and placed the bowl in front of the girl, who took it slower this time.  
Naruko shook her head. "No it's spelled 'roaring light'." She told Agil who nodded in understanding.  
"That's a very nice name." He said. "So what is a young girl like you doing out at this hour? Shouldn't you be at home?" He asked as he inspected her more closely, noting how dirty she looked.

Naruko shook her head again. "I don't have a home. I lived in the orphanage, but I hated it there so I ran away."

Agil blinked at that piece of information. "So you…just live on the street now? For how long?" He asked her; sure he wasn't going to like the answer. Naruko gave a slight shrug.  
"Not sure, I stopped counting after two weeks."

Agil frowned at the answer; as he thought he didn't like the answer. "And nobody has been looking for you?" He received another shrug from Naruko, who had by now finished her ramen.  
"Sometimes I think someone is, but I don't want to go back so I hide."

Agil was thoroughly confused by the girl in front of him. How bad was she treated at the orphanage to think it was better to live in the streets like she was? And the fact that she could hide from those who were looking for her, who were most likely shinobi, was astounding.

By now more people had entered and he had to take his focus away from her to care for his costumers. When he looked over at where she'd been she was gone. Looking around his establishment he spotted her near the table where they were playing poker. He was surprised when he noticed how intensely she was observing the game.

Naruko was fascinated by the game she was watching, absorbing all the information she could from it. She couldn't quite understand how it was played, but she got the gist of it and she understood more with each move made.

The night continued on, Naruko staying by the poker table with Agil keeping an eye on her when he could.

"Yo Agil! Gimme my usual!" A loud and boisterous voice grabbed his attention. The owner of said voice was a fourteen year old girl with violet hair, brown eyes and a large grin on her face who was dressed quite provocatively with only a mesh body suit under a tan overcoat and an orange skirt.  
Agil returned her grin. "Coming right up, Anko."

"So what's up? You're later than usual." He asked as he passed her drink to her. Anko sighed.  
"Ugh, Hokage-sama is running everyone ragged looking for some brat." She complained.  
Agil raised an eyebrow. "Oh? It doesn't happen to be…" He said but was cut off by a commotion.

The source of the commotion was a drunk civilian who had apparently spotted Naruko and gotten enraged. "Come here you fucking devil spawn!" He yelled and lunged at the girl who barely jumped out of the way.

The man made to attack her again but was stopped by Agil appearing towering over him with a large battle axe. "Get. Out." Agil glared at the man. The drunkard took a step back.  
"B-But the…"

"Get out of my bar. I will tolerate absolutely NO fighting in my bar." Agil roared at the man and pointed his axe threateningly at the man who scrambled outside, deciding not to pick a fight with the giant man.

"Thank you." Naruko bowed in appreciation to Agil, who sighed and waved her off. "Don't worry about it. It was nothing, Naruko-chan." He said and led the girl to the counter. Of course he didn't know that nobody had ever defended her before, so to her it was a big deal.

Meanwhile Anko stared wide eyed at the girl. "You're the brat…" She said quietly, getting the attention of Agil and Naruko, the latter looking at her uncertainly.  
"You're the brat that's been missing for a month!" Anko almost yelled before standing up and grabbing Naruko, who yelped in surprise. "You're coming with me right now to Hokage-sama."

"Anko, wait!" Agil said as he cut her off. Anko glared at him, paying no attention to Naruko who was squirming in her grasp. "What?!"

"I don't know what caused Naruko to run away but I know it wasn't good. Promise me she won't be sent back to the orphanage." Agil demanded.

His words caused Naruko to stop moving, staring at him in surprise. Anko too was surprised at his words. "I can't promise anything, it's up to Hokage-sama, but I'll try." She finally said after staring at him for a few moments.  
Agil nodded reluctantly and let her pass.

"I found her, Hokage-sama." Anko exclaimed as she stormed into the Sandaime Hokage's office and put Naruko down. Hiruzen looked up from the paper he was reading and immediately got up from his desk and hugged Naruko, who stiffened, not used to having physical contact with someone that didn't hurt.

"Do you have any idea how much I've worried about you Naruko-chan?" He said once he pulled back. Naruko looked away ashamed.  
"Sorry Jiji."

"Why did you run away like that?" The Sandaime asked her as they moved to the desk, where Naruko sat down in front of it while Hiruzen sat in his chair again. Anko decided to stay in the background.

Naruko shrugged. "I hated the orphanage, so I ran away." She said before muttering. "Stupid old ladies calling me a demon just because I have a giant fox in my stomach."

"What?!" Naruko flinched at the exclamation from the Hokage and realized he had heard her. "Who told you that?" He demanded of her. Naruko shrunk in her seat. "Nobody." She answered quietly.

"Naruko, this is very important. You need to tell me who said that to you." Hiruzen told her.

"Nobody told me." Naruko said louder and continued before she was interrupted again. "I can remember it." She explained, stopping the Sandaime in his tracks.

"You…you remember it?" He said shakily after a moment of silence. Naruko nodded.  
"I can remember everything in my life like it just happened." She explained. "My first memory is lying next to my mom."

The Hokage leaned back, absorbing this new information. "So…so you know who your parents are?" He asked after a short silence.

"Uzumaki Kushina and Namikaze Minato." Naruko nodded. "And I know they gave their life to seal that huge fox inside me to save the village."

Hiruzen nodded and stared out at the Hokage monument for a while in silence before telling Naruko she had to keep who her parents were a secret, and advised her to do the same with her status as a Jinchūriki, which he explained was what she was and what that entailed.

"Now what to do about your housing problem. You clearly cannot go back to the orphanage; I'll be having a talk with them tomorrow." Hiruzen said as he thought to himself. He didn't know what to do with Naruko, tomorrow he could fix her a place to live, but what about until then? Maybe he could take her home with him.

"She can crash at my place." Anko spoke up. Hiruzen and Naruko looked back at her in surprise; they had completely forgotten she was there. "Are you sure, Anko-chan?" The Sandaime asked.

Anko nodded. "It's just to sleep right? Just make sure you get her a place tomorrow." She said and motioned for Naruko to come with her. Said girl looked at the Hokage, who nodded, so she jumped down from the chair and walked up to Anko.

"Oh and Anko…" Hiruzen called out before they left. "Yeah yeah I know, no talking about the kid's parents or fox." She waved him off before taking Naruko with her in a Shunshin.

Six years later Naruko was at Agil's bar once again. For the last six years she had been coming there regularly, becoming good friends with Agil, Anko, and the guys who were always playing card games. Naruko's original fascination for card games had quickly turned into a love for it, and soon she had joined them in playing. Now she rarely played however as nobody wanted to play against her because of her unnatural luck, something they said she had after the fifth time in a row she had won in five different games.

Currently she was sitting at the bar counter celebrating passing the Genin exams with Agil. In the six years that had passed she had grown to quite a beauty. Her hair had grown out, now done up in a short, thick twin tails with bangs that covered most of the left side of her face. Her clothes now consisted of a skin-tight mesh shirt, under which she had nothing but bandages around her chest. As well as a pair of tight-fitting dark blue shorts that was held up by a double belt, a pair of black gloves, and black knee-high boots with orange highlights. A black-clothed hitai-ate was wrapped around her neck and she had also bandaged both her thighs and strapped two pair of holsters for her specially made throwing cards on each thigh.

The reason for her quite revealing clothes was Anko. Over the years she had drawn out Naruko from her shy and cautious self and turned her into someone who was very similar to herself.

Speaking of Anko, that very same person decided to join Naruko and Agil in their celebration. "Yo Naruko! Finally a Genin, huh?!" She asked loudly as she slung herself over Naruko's shoulders.

Naruko grinned and touched her hitai-ate. "Yup! It was a piece of cake!" She boasted. Anko snorted.  
"With that memory of yours I'd hope so. Not to mention the training I helped you with! Oh, that reminds me!" She exclaimed and pulled a bundle out from her coat.

"This is for passing." She said and gave it to Naruko who eagerly un-wrapped it, revealing a dark blue, almost black jacket that almost reached her ankles. The jacket had an orange stripe running along the length of each of the sleeves as well as the Uzumaki spiral both on the front left side and on the back. Each sleeve also had shoulder pockets that could fit her cards.

Naruko gasped in delight and put it on. "Thanks Anko-nee its perfect!" She exclaimed and tackled Anko in a hug.  
Anko grinned before exclaiming with a laugh. "You're welcome. Now let's celebrate! Agil give us your best liquor, on me!"

Agil who had been busy with his other costumers blinked and looked over at them. "Anko I can't give Naruko alcohol, she's a minor!" He said. In return Anko just pointed at Naruko's hitai-ate.  
"Not anymore! By the laws of the village she's an adult now, so let's get drinking!" Agil sighed and nodded, bringing some of his best sake to them before looking at Naruko.  
"Are you sure about this?" Naruko nodded at the question. She had spent six years watching other people get drunk, it was time for her to finally try it out. Agil sighed again. "Very well, but Anko you have responsibility over this." He warned her before pouring them each a cup.

Unfortunately, or fortunately depending on how you look at it, Naruko's wish of trying out being drunk was unfulfilled. After sharing several bottles with Anko, who was severely smashed by then, and not feeling any different from when she started, Naruko realized she couldn't get drunk and cursed her high metabolism. Agil just laughed at her.

At the end of the night it ended up being Naruko who escorted Anko home, luckily they lived in the same apartment complex.

Dumping Anko onto her bed she sighed and turned to leave so she didn't notice Anko reaching out to her until she was on the bed next to her being held tightly. "Stay." Anko muttered into her hair.  
"O-Okay…" Naruko said with a blush, feeling the older girl's impressive assets press into her back. She had never been held like this before and she didn't really know how to react so she stayed still while trying to relax. Something that was hard to do when she kept being reminded of the fact that she was in bed with Anko, someone she had a secret crush on. But eventually she managed to fall asleep, feeling secure in the embrace.

Naruko groaned sleepily as she hugged her pillow closer to her. Her soft, warm, breathing pillow. Wait…breathing? Naruko frowned, her brain working slowly. Then the events of the previous night came flooding back and she remembered she was lying in bed with Anko. And from the feel of it, she was probably lying on Anko's chest. Her eyes snapped open and she scrambled back, falling off the bed in her haste.

"Wuzzah?" Anko mumbled sleepily as she shot up and looking around unseeingly before falling back on the bed, already asleep again. Naruko sat on the floor, her pulse racing for a reason she didn't understand. She took a few moments to calm down and get rid of the blush on her cheeks. Then she stood up and brushed herself off while looking at the sleeping Anko who was strewn out haphazardly across the bed.

Shaking her head she moved to the kitchen and rummaged through the cupboards in search of the ingredients needed for her special hangover cure.

An hour or two later Anko finally got up and stumbled groaning into the kitchen, where Naruko was eating some pancakes she had just made. As Anko sat down and put her head in her hands Naruko got up and took a glass filled with a thick green liquid from the fridge, grabbed a plate and put a few pancakes on it, and placed it all in front of Anko. "Swallow, don't taste." Naruko reminded her about the drink.

Anko grunted and quickly downed the concoction. "God you're a life saver Naruko." She groaned. Despite the horrible taste of the drink, it worked extremely well, she could already feel it working.

A few hours later Naruko was at a training field, about to test out a seal she had finally finished. When Naruko was younger she had decided to learn as much about sealing as she could, since she had a giant fox demon sealed inside her. So for years she had studied the art, learning as much as she could. Now she wouldn't be bragging by saying the only one in Konoha better at seals than her was Jiraiya of the Sannin.

The seal, or rather seals, she had created were currently all engraved on her throwing cards. There were three seals, the first one forming the kanji for chakra in the middle of the card. The function of it was that it would store a small amount of the user's chakra within it, and connect the object it was on to the user. This allowed the user to send more chakra to it and draw chakra from it. If it was a small object, like Naruko's throwing cards, it could even be used to move the object remotely.

The second seal was actually five seals in one appearing as five kanji, one for every basic chakra nature. This seal was much more complicated than the first. The function of it was to take available chakra and convert it into the nature the user wanted depending on which part of the seal was activated, allowing them to use every elemental chakra nature.

The final seal was actually twelve seals in total, one for each hand seal. This was the most complicated seal, as it would allow her to manipulate the chakra in the card to form techniques. Simply by performing a hand seal it would activate the corresponding seal on the card.

Well that was the theory, now Naruko had to try if they actually worked as they were supposed to. So drawing one of her cards she channeled some chakra into it, feeling the first seal absorb it, and then she threw it into the air and reached out with her chakra. She felt the chakra in the card resonate and as the card came down she willed it to slow down, trying to make it stop in front of her. She succeeded, for a few seconds, and then the card fell to the ground. Naruko sighed; this wasn't going to be easy. Luckily she had a few days.

For the rest of the day she practiced trying to make the card stop in the air for as long as she could until she almost collapsed at the end of the day.

The next day she kept practicing and after several hours, she deemed herself ready for the next step after holding several cards in the air for twenty minutes straight.

"Okay, let's see how this goes." Naruko muttered to herself as she faced a training post with a card hovering in front of her. Then she pushed out with her chakra, willing the card to fly forward at the wooden post. With a loud thumb the card crashed into the wood, burying almost half the card inside it. Okay so shooting it forward wasn't a problem. But now came the real challenge, moving the card in the air fluently. So for the rest of the day and the day after she practiced, stopping only to sleep, eat and take care of her needs, until at the end of the second day.

Naruko watched with glee as cards flew around her in a flurry before she directed them into a barrier formation and then shot them at a tree. "Yes I did it!" She laughed and reached out with her chakra again, calling the cards to her and calling it quits for the day. She had mastered the first part, and discovered she had a limited range her chakra could reach, but luckily it wasn't crippling.

'Last day before the squad placement…' Naruko thought to herself the next day as she stood in front of a lake. Pulling a card out and having it hover in front of her she got to working on the next part, nature transformation. Now to manipulate the card, she would focus her chakra in the middle of the card, where the kanji for chakra was. This time however she also focused it on the top of the card, where the kanji for fire was.

The next instant the card ignited in a blaze of fire. Naruko grinned before she started going through hand seals. She had memorized a jutsu from every element in preparation of this. As she moved through the hand seals she could feel the chakra in the card respond, meaning it was working. Holding the final seal, Naruko exclaimed.  
"Katon: Endan!"

A large flame bullet flew from the card in front of her, going far out above the lake before dispersing. Naruko was quiet; she almost couldn't believe she had done it. "Yes, it worked! I've done it! I've created the Card Style!" She started cheering, jumping around the field in jubelation.

* * *

**AN: For Agil's appearance, he's from Sword Art Online. For Naruko's appearance check my profile.**

**Till next time, Cuius of Caelum**


	3. Samurai no Kokoro

**Title:** Samurai no Kokoro

(Heart of the Samurai)

(侍の心)

**Category: **Naruto, Very slight Bleach

**Genres: **Adventure, Romance

**Rating: **M

**Characters: **Naruko U. & Haku

**Summary: **At the age of six, Naruko ran away from her village and is found by a samurai. Ten years later a blonde samurai arrives at a dying village in the waves.

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto. Masashi Kishimoto owns Naruto and all things related to it. This story is simply a product of envy and admiration towards those with the proper ownership to the series.**

* * *

Chapter 1: The Wandering Samurai

Nami no Kuni was an isolated island country, well out in the middle of the ocean between Hi no Kuni and Mizu no Kuni. It was often covered in mist so thick you couldn't see more than a few meters in front of you. The only way to access the island chain was by ferry, unless you could walk on the water and felt like trying to running the long distance, which would kill most.

But for a few years now the ferries had stopped running between the mainland and Nami. There were rumors of a corporate tycoon trying to make the country his and had cut of all communication with the outside world to make it a reality.

The only way across the waters now was by a privately chartered boat, in most cases a small, flimsy fishing vessel like the one going across the waters at this exact moment, carrying two passengers. The fisherman was silent and nervous as he steered the slowly through the thick mist, too scared to say anything.

The other passenger looked up at him, fair features half hidden by a stylish sugegasa, a straw hat. She wore an almost completely dull orange kimono; the only parts not orange were the shoulders and the trimming, which were a dark blue, almost purple. It was held together by a dark green sash, but was still almost completely open over the chest, showing her toned stomach and bandaged chest, as well as a small medallion with the Kanji for 'Iron' on it. In her sash she also carried a katana with a dark-red hilt and a strange cross-guard; it had the shape of rectangle decorated with a pattern of vertical lines, with the long sides pinched in towards the middle, overall looking like a squared-off hourglass. Next to it was a wakizashi, with a light-blue hilt and a tsuba made of two slim swirls of metal looping around the blade to make an open oval, resembling an 'S'. On her feet she wore a pair of simple tabi and straw sandals. Next to her was a bindle.

It wasn't difficult for the fisherman to figure out his passenger was a samurai. He had just dropped of Tazuna the bridge builder on the mainland when she had appeared and thrown him a small bundle of Ryō notes and requested to be taken across the ocean to Nami. He had been too frightened to say no, so silently agreed and allowed her on board.

It was only then he noticed she wasn't like any of Gatō's thugs. For one she was a beautiful young woman, clearly in her teens, with spiky, shoulder-length blond hair with a braided pony-tail that reached her mid-back and jaw-length bangs framing her face. She was slightly tanned, had six marks on her cheeks, three on each that looked like whiskers, and calculating azure blue eyes. She'd be considered a beauty in any culture.

Once they finally reached a small beach the fisherman quietly brought his boat to shore and allowed the young lady out, who thanked him quietly before going on her way.

* * *

Tsunami walked down one of the roads of the once crowed streets of the main village of Nami. Nami no Kuni had been a peaceful and lovely place once, long ago, safe from the politics and wars of the mainland. That had all changed when Gatō and his corporation suddenly bought all the main travelling companies which operated between Nami no Kuni and its neighbors, isolating the island nation from the world. Within a year Gatō had effectively seized all of the shipping between the small country and the surrounding continent, plunging it into a recession rarely seen. Now the country was slowly being bled to death, not even having enough food to go around.

Anyone who challenged him was killed, like her late husband. Now her father was making a last attempt to free Nami by building a bridge to connect them to the mainland, but Gatō was doing everything he could to stop them, which was why her father was going to Konoha, in hopes of getting ninja protection. She dearly wished she could help her father, but what could she do?

"Hey girl." Tsunami started at the voice and looked over her shoulder. A group of Gatō's thugs were surrounding a young girl. She was clearly not from around here, her clothing and equipment made that painfully clear.

* * *

"You know weapons aren't allowed here right?" Naruko heard one of the men surrounding her say. Glancing around discreetly she did a headcount. 'Seven…' She thought to herself. One of her hands was resting on her katana, the other holding busy holding her bindle, as she calmly gazed at the thugs before her. "Oh? I apologize I didn't know…but I'm not giving up my swords, as a Samurai it would be shameful without something in return." She told them.

The leader of the group grinned maliciously as he raised his hand, clearing aiming for her chest. "And what would you like in return?" The rest of the thugs gained perverted grins as they caught on to what their leader was suggesting.

A small smirk played on Naruko's lips as she answered. "Sorry boys…you're not my type."

They attempted to grab her, but in a blur of motion she disappeared, stunning her would be rapists. Then she suddenly appeared behind the leader, sheathing her sword. The blade clicked into place and Naruko muttered. "Hitotsume: Hōzuri." Then a chorus of pained cries came from the thugs as they fell down when a multitude of wounds appeared all over their bodies. They were all shallow, surface wounds, but they still hurt.

"You bitch!" One of them gasped, only to scream in pain as he gained another cut, right across his mouth. "Mind your language. There are children here." Naruko reprimanded him, to anyone watching not having moved one inch.

"You're fucking dead!" The leader of the thugs yelled and staggered up, drawing his own katana and charged her. Naruko sighed, sidestepping his first swing and spinning around him at his second swing. He turned swinging recklessly, leaving himself wide open to Naruko, who spun swiftly while drawing her blade. Not stopping her spin she slashed before sheathing her sword as she stopped, facing away from him once again. "Futatsume: Setsudan." She muttered as her opponent fell to his knees while crying out in agony, gripping the wrist of his now handless right arm. Facing the rest of the thugs Naruko addressed them as she took a lazy stance. "I'd recommend you get your friend and leave. I'll show you no mercy next time."

The thugs scrambled to do so, some wincing in pain from their wounds. "Scum." Naruko murmured before turning and continued on her way, ignoring the hushed whispers from the surrounding people who had witnessed the event.

* * *

Tsunami had decided to follow the mysterious girl, keeping at a distance as she watched the young blond enter a store and buy several sandwiches. She guessed the girl was stocking up for her travels. She was proven wrong however when the girl moved only a small distance to a couple of homeless orphans and giving them what she had bought with a kind smile.

A little while later the girl had moved to a small clearing, sitting on top of a boulder while eating, and that's when Tsunami decided to approach her.

"Excuse me." She said as she approached the blond. The girl looked over her shoulder. "Finally decided to say hello did you?"

Tsunami blinked, not sure what the girl was talking about.

"You've been following me for a while now." Naruko explained turning around, seeing Tsunami's confusion. Tsunami looked stunned, then embarrassed that she had been caught.

"I'm sorry, I did not mean to spy." She apologized with a slight bow. Naruko waved her off with a small smile. "It's fine, no harm done. How can I help you?"

Tsunami found herself hesitating, was she really going to ask this girl, a complete stranger who didn't even look out of her teens, to put her line to protect her family?  
"Well…would you please listen to my story? Then we'll go from there." She asked.

The girl blinked, but nodded her head.

* * *

"Hmm, so you wish for me to help protect you and your family while your father builds this bridge?" Naruko clarified after Tsunami finished her story.

"Yes." Tsunami nodded. "But I would understand if you refused, I have nothing to offer you as payment." Naruko gave a light smile.  
"Give me housing until the bridge is finished and I will gladly protect your family in turn." She told the older woman.

Tsunami bowed. "Thank you so much!" Naruko gave a short laugh. "There is no need to bow to me." Picking up her bindle and putting her sugegasa back on she turned to walk back to the city when she realized something. Turning back to Tsunami she rubbed the back of her head sheepishly.  
"Oh and uh…what's your name?" She asked.

Tsunami giggled and introduced herself. "My name is Tsunami. What is yours?"  
Naruko smiled and tipped her hat slightly. "A pleasure, my name is Uzumaki Naruko."

* * *

"It's not much, but I hope you'll find it to your liking." Tsunami said as she showed Naruko the room she would sleep in.  
"I've been sleeping outside for the last month or so. This is more than enough." Naruko assured her as she placed her bindle next to the futon in the room. Tsunami told her dinner would be in a couple of hours, so Naruko decided to go outside.

* * *

Naruko stood barefoot out on the water outside of the house, going through movements with her sword while her eyes were closed. She was aware of someone watching her from the house, but she didn't feel any danger from them, so she let it be. A few minutes later she stopped and sheathed her sword and walking back to the shore, where she wiped her face and neck with a towel.

As she did she looked over towards the house, spotting a young boy looking at her with a slight blush. Putting her sugegasa back on her head and slipping on her tabi and sandals on she walked up to the boy. Looking down at the boy she smiled slightly as he looked up at her. "You're Inari-san, right? Tsunami-san's son?" She asked him.

When he nodded she crouched to his level and offered her hand. "Nice you meet you, Inari-san. I'm Uzumaki Naruko; your mother hired me to protect your family."

Inari didn't shake her hand; he only looked up at her and frowned. "You should leave before you get killed." He told her. Naruko was taken aback and dropped her hand.

"Sorry, but I've already given my word to protect you and I won't break my word. That would be against my honor as a Samurai." Naruko told Inari. Before anything else could be said Naruko's eyes widened as she felt a large amount of chakra being used in the distance. "Go inside, Inari-san."

"Huh?"

"Go inside. _Now_." Naruko told him sternly. Inari gulped and nodded before running inside.

A few moments later Tsunami came out and looked around, spotting Naruko up on a pole staring off into the distance. "What's the matter Naruko-san?"

"Two powerful people are fighting in the distance. It is possible it's over your father." Naruko answered. Tsunami's eyes widened.  
"Please go Naruko-san! We'll be fine here."

Naruko looked down at the woman for a moment. "…If that is your wish." She said before leaping of the pole and taking off towards the fight in a blur.

* * *

As Naruko approached the area of the battle she took in the situation. She saw three kids, looking to be a few years younger than her, most likely a Genin team, and behind them an elderly man who she assumed was Tazuna. Further away she spotted two of the same person, who she recognized as Zabuza Momochi, one currently keeping none other than Hatake Kakashi, who she assumed to be the Genin's sensei, imprisoned in a sphere of water, while the other, a clone, prepared to kill the Genin and Tazuna.

She saw one of the Genin, judging from the crest on his back, an Uchiha, rush at the clone and cursed. She speed up, pushing chakra in the soles of her feet and reached the charging Genin just as the clone of Zabuza drew his giant sword to cut him in half. She grabbed the Genin and threw him back with her left hand while she drew her sword with the other, cutting through the clone before it could finish its swing.

She saw the surprise on the two Jōnin's faces and could feel the stares from the people behind her as she sheathed her sword. "Momochi Zabuza, huh? Well you certainly have dangerous people after you Tazuna-san." She said.

"W-Who are you?" Tazuna asked. Naruko gave a small smile over her shoulder as she tipped her sugegasa. "My name is Uzumaki Naruko. I was hired by your daughter; I'm here on her behalf."

"Tsunami-chan sent you?"

"Yes…" Naruko confirmed and turned back towards Zabuza and a wide eyed Kakashi. "But I believe this is not the best time to be talking casually." She stated before addressing the Genin.  
"You three defend Tazuna-san; I'll free your sensei, okay?" She asked them. Not waiting for them to say anything she charged at Zabuza, who glared at her as another clone formed out of water.

A slash that only Kakashi's Sharingan could properly follow destroyed it before it even completely formed and Naruko reached Zabuza.  
Zabuza swung at her with his Zanbatō at her, but was surprised when she easily parried it with her own sword, leaving him completely open.  
Naruko grabbed her sword in a double handed grip over her head as she charged it with chakra, causing it to shine a bright yellow. Zabuza's eyes widened in panic and jumped back just as Naruko swung.

"Ryōdan!" She cried and brought her sword down violently, barely missing Zabuza and causing a pillar-like explosion of steam as the chakra charged blade hit the water.

The Genin and the old man behind them gazed at the display of power in awe as the steam cleared. "Are you okay, Kakashi?" Naruko asked the man beside her who was now free from the water prison.  
"Yes thank you, Naruko-san." Kakashi thanked her. Naruko chuckled slightly. "You don't have to be so formal Kakashi…I still remember you."

Kakashi smiled before turning serious as the mist grew thicker and Zabuza could be heard chuckling. "We'll talk more later." He said, getting a nod from Naruko.

"So now I have to fight some samurai brat too?" Zabuza said. Naruko frowned at the mist preventing her from seeing anything.  
"This mist is annoying." She said and started spinning, gaining velocity fast. "Tatsumaki!" Wind kicked up around her as she channeled wind chakra around herself and quickly a miniature tornado formed around her, drawing in the mist. Then it exploded outward, forcing even the Genin and Tazuna to cover their eyes from the intense winds.

Naruko grinned as she stopped spinning. "There we go." She said happily, ignoring the look she was getting from Kakashi. Then she ducked as Zabuza's blade came swinging over her head, seeing Kakashi jump over it. Turning she blocked the blade as Zabuza spun in a complete circle and aimed low at her. Kakashi took the chance to attack Zabuza, launching him away with a kick.

Not giving him time to regain his bearings, Naruko and Kakashi charged Zabuza as he recovered. Naruko slashed out with her sword, sending a sharp crescent of wind chakra ahead of them as they rushed him, Kakashi moving to flank from the left.

Zabuza narrowed his eyes as he saw Naruko slash the air and only his instincts saved him from being cut in half as he ducked under the blade of wind. Seeing that Naruko was coming from the front and Kakashi was flanking his right, Zabuza started running to the left.

Kakashi frowned when he saw that Naruko wouldn't be able to cut Zabuza off and flipped through hand seals. "Suiton: Suijinheki!" He exclaimed as water rose into a large wall ahead of Zabuza, cutting off his path. Zabuza cursed and turned around with a swing, cleaving a charging Naruko in two. He grinned before his eyes widened in surprise as Naruko faded away and he felt a sharp pain as Naruko slashed into his arm. "Utsusemi…"

"Gah!" He cried as he gripped the wound and Naruko kicked him, launching him towards Kakashi.

Zabuza managed to stop himself by putting his hand on the water and channeling chakra. "Give up Zabuza-san. I've made one of your arms useless, and you're outnumbered. You lost the second I removed your mist." Naruko called out to him.  
"Shut up you brat." Zabuza growled and charged madly at her with his blade trailing behind him.

"You may be a renowned swordsman…" Naruko said as she dodged Zabuza's wild swings casually until she jumped high above him and drew her sword, holding it above her head in a double handed grip. "But you can't match a samurai…"

"Rakuyō!" Naruko shot down at extreme speeds, and Zabuza was barely able to raise his sword to block. With a great explosion Naruko hit the water, causing it to rise up in a pillar, shrouding her and Zabuza from view.  
As the air cleared Naruko could be seen crouched in front of Zabuza, who still had his sword up in a block. Then a sharp sound echoed out followed by half of the Kubikiribōchō falling into the water as Zabuza cried out in pain and stumbled back as Naruko stood and sheathed her sword.

From the shoulder and down, Naruko had cut a large gash across Zabuza's body. "I'm sorry…I still haven't perfected that technique, so I missed slightly." Naruko said and moved to draw her sword for a final blow. However she was surprised when someone appeared in front of her and kicked her away violently.  
"H-Haku…" Zabuza said weakly.

"I'm sorry Zabuza-sama. I wasn't fast enough to protect you." Haku apologized as she helped the Nukenin stand.

"We're retreating." Zabuza told his subordinate as he glared at the blond girl. "Hai." Haku nodded and before Kakashi or Naruko could move to attack they were gone in a swirl of mist.

Naruko sighed as she turned to Kakashi. "They're gone." She said, getting a nod in agreement from him as he covered his Sharingan.

* * *

"Tōsan!" Tsunami exclaimed when she saw them coming and ran up to hug her father. Pulling back she bowed deeply to the Konoha ninja and Naruko. "Thank you so much for protecting Tōsan."

Kakashi gave her an eye smile. "Just doing our job."

Meanwhile Naruko was trying to ignore the two Genin who were constantly sneaking glances at her. Looking over at them she saw the pink haired girl quickly divert her gaze, while the Uchiha kept his stare on her.  
"Yes?" She said questioningly.

"Fight me." He said. Naruko raised an eyebrow in surprise. "Why?"

"You're strong."

"Okay…fine, if your sensei allows it." She said and walked inside.

* * *

**AN: Story idea of a samurai Naruko, obviously. Inspired by The Wanderer by Darth Malleus. Naruto would also have a Zanpakutō.**

**Till next time, Cuius of Caelum**


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